“King of the Castle” also has some prerequisite quests you need to complete before you can accept it. This quest is part of patch 4.0 of Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood, so you need to have the Stormblood expansion before you can start unlocking the dungeon.
Quick Step-by-Step Unlocking Guide
Detailed Unlocking Guide
Before you can start unlocking Kugane Castle, you need to complete the final Main Scenario Quest (MSQ) of the Stormblood expansion. Talk to Pipin in The Lochs (X:32.6, Y:22.9) and complete the quest “Stormblood”. This quest is part of the Main Scenario Questline for patch 4.0. You need to finish every MSQ leading up to “Stormblood” before you can start unlocking the dungeon. Kugane Castle is part of the level 70 expert-level dungeons in the Stormblood expansion. The quests required to unlock these dungeons will not appear until you finish the story. Once you’ve finished the Main Scenario Questline, talk to the East Aldenard Trading Company Associate in Kugane (X:13.9, Y:13.3) and accept the quest “King of the Castle.” The relieved company associate will ask for your help with the hostage situation within Kugane Castle. The outlaws that took over the castle are keeping many important dignitaries as hostages, including the Bugyo of Kugane. While the Sekiseigumi (Kugane’s peacekeeping force) would normally be tasked with responding to such cases, they don’t want to risk the Bugyo’s life with an all-out assault on the castle. Instead, they want a small band of adventurers to infiltrate the castle and deal with the outlaws. After giving you the initial details, the company associate will have you meet up with a Sekiseigumi Blade outside the castle’s sewer system to learn more about the plan. Head to the Sekiseigumi Blade in Kugane (X12.6, Y:6.2) to continue the quest. The officer will tell you that rebellious samurais and shinobis now occupy the halls of the prestigious castle, headed by a disgruntled merchant named Kageyama. The officer will also warn you about the merchant’s mysterious bodyguard, whose skills with the sword improve the more he’s paid. If you’ve played Final Fantasy X before, you’ll know who this is! After you finish talking to the officer, Kugane Castle will be unlocked. To enter the dungeon, you’ll need at least a level 70 Disciple of War or Magic job and an average item level of 280. Since this dungeon was released back in patch 4.0, it’s easy to solo when you enter the dungeon unsynced with a level 90 or above character. Though if you encounter this dungeon in a duty roulette, you will need to do it synced. To help you clear Kugane Castle quickly, here’s a breakdown of each boss:
Boss #1: Zuiko-maru
Mechanics: Intimidating as he may look, this boss is relatively simple to deal with. Immediately kill the extra mobs that spawn and group up for the stacking AoE marker.
Clearout: A wide frontal cleave attack on the primary target. Move behind or to the side of the boss to dodge. Harakiri Kosho: Up to two bomb-carrying automaton mobs can spawn throughout the encounter. These mobs will tether to players and drop their bombs after some time. The blast radius of each bomb will be telegraphed. Tethered players should drag the automaton to one side of the arena, then move out of the blast radius to avoid incoming damage. Cordage + Death Throes: “Harakiri Kosho” mobs will charge toward players with “Cordage” and bind them with “Death Throes.” These mobs have relatively low HP, so take them out before your party members are bound. Harakiri: After some time, the bombs on the back of the automatons will glow and explode, dealing high damage to anyone caught in the blast. Kenki Release: A arena-wide AoE attack. Mitigate and heal through the damage. Helm Crack: The boss will target a random player with a stacking AoE marker. The rest of the party should group up with the targeted players to mitigate incoming damage.
Boss #2: Dojun-maru
Mechanics: The boss isn’t as dangerous as the extra mobs that can spawn throughout the encounter. Always keep an eye out for the Omnitsus outside the arena.
Issen: The boss’ non-telegraphed normal attack can cleave. Tanks should face the boss away from the party to avoid extra damage. Juji Shuriken: A narrow line AoE attack towards a random player. Bait these line attacks away from the group. Clockwork Medium: The boss will spawn multiple “Elite Omnitsu” mobs inside and outside the arena. These mobs are responsible for most of the mechanics in this encounter. Elite Omnitsu (Outside): Up to four Omnitsus will spawn outside the arena and cast red ground AoE attacks. Avoid these AoEs, or you will be knocked up in the air and be inflicted with stacking vulnerability debuff. Later in the fight, the Omnitsus will follow their ground AoE attacks with their own “Juji Shuriken” attacks. Stay alert until the mobs disappear. Elite Omnitsu (Inside): Up to three Omnitsus will spawn inside the arena that must be quickly picked up by the tank and bursted down by the party. They can also use “Juji Shuriken” and will cast “Harakiri” if left alive for too long. Harakiri: “Elite Omnitsu” mobs will suicide after some time, dealing high group-wide damage. If three Omnitsus are allowed to suicide at the same time, your party will most likely wipe, so take them out as soon as possible. Clockwork Raiton – The boss will target up to two players with circular AoE attacks. This mechanic will overlap with “Clockwork Medium.” Spread out the AoEs to avoid overlapping damage.
Boss #3: Yojimbo
Mechanics: The legendary sword-for-hire makes his debut in Final Fantasy XIV as an enemy! Similar to how Yojimbo worked in FFX, Kageyama will pay him with piles of gold throughout the encounter to make his special attack deadlier. The party needs to reduce the payment Yojimbo receives throughout the fight to avoid a wipe. Note that this encounter will have multiple downtimes, so your burst phases may get interrupted.
Phase 1
Wakizashi: The boss’ non-telegraphed normal attack can cleave. Tanks should face the boss away from the party to avoid extra damage. Payday: The boss’ companion, Daigoro, will pick up the piles of gold scattered by Kageyama around the arena. Daigoro will jump from one pile to another, and anyone caught in its way will be knocked back. Each pile of gold that Daigoro picks up will increase the “Funds” duty gauge by 5. The accumulated gauge number carries over to the next “Payday” phase. Do not let the duty gauge reach 100, or you will most likely wipe. Zen Masshigura: Daigoro’s knockback attack. Stay away from Daigoro’s path. Zanmato: A group-wide AoE attack after the “Payday” phase that deals damage based on the “Funds” duty gauge. Keep the duty gauge level to a minimum to decrease incoming damage. Metta-giri: An arena-wide AoE attack. Mitigate and heal through the damage. Inoshikacho: Two sets of four butterflies will land consecutively around the arena. Each butterfly set will fall near the middle or near the outer edges of the arena. Determine where the first set will land, wait for the butterflies to explode, then move into the safe zone. Iai-giri: The boss casts a circular, point-blank AoE attack immediately after “Inoshikacho.” Stay away from the boss to avoid unnecessary damage.
Phase 2
Dragon’s Lair: After the second “Payday” phase, dragon heads will spawn to interrupt players picking up the piles of gold. Assign some players to deal with the dragon heads while the rest pick up piles of gold. Dragonfire: The dragon heads will fire line AoE attacks that can interrupt players. Destroy the dragon heads as soon as possible.
Extra Treasure Coffers
Apart from the boss rewards, there are four treasure coffers located throughout the dungeon that you can open for more gear or crafting material rewards:
(X:11.0 Y:7.2) (X:10.3 Y:9.2) (X:11.1 Y:14.5) (X:11.6 Y:15.8)
